Goodnight Sweet Princess
by Doomology
Summary: [SnapexOC] AU after HP:OotP. Tara has been having strange dreams, and has been forced to move in with her Head of House. But is he the solution to her problems, or will he create a whole new set of problems? Rated for later chapters.
1. The Beginning

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep 

A Harry Potter FanFiction

By Ariane Douleur

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

Chapter 1-The Beginning 

Tara Landers sat huddled in a deep green armchair close to the fire in the Slytherin common room, tired, cold, and homesick. The pretty 16 year-old had moved from her home deep in the Louisiana swamps to England when she was 10, but she still missed the old plantation house she had grown up in. She had never quite adjusted to the balmy weather, and was always wrapped up in some large sweater or another. As she grew warm enough to take off her sweater, her best friend, Danielle Bousquet, another sixth year in Slytherin house, entered the common room, and plopped herself down in the chair next to Tara.

Danielle looked closely at her friend, shocked at just how pale and thin the girl next to her was. True, Danielle knew that Tara had been pale and thin since the day they had met on the Hogwart's Express, but lately it had become so much more pronounced. Everything about her friend seemed to have changed. Hair that had once been a golden blonde was now a silvery white and blue eyes had become gray ringed in deep purple circles, and she had grown taller, giving her the look of a fragile doll. Danielle sighed, and tried to smile at her friend before pressing her with the question that was eating away at her. "Tara, have you talked to the headmaster yet?" She waited for her friend to process the question, and was rewarded with an answering mumble. "Yes, Danny, I did. He wants to speak with my parents before making a decision. Said he'd send me an owl when he figured it out." Tara sat up a little bit straighter. "If it wasn't beginning to affect my work, I wouldn't say a thing, but..." her voice trailed off, as she sunk deep into thought.

Danielle sighed again, knowing exactly where her friend's mind was. Tara had failed their last Potions test, and it disturbed her greatly. Tara had never failed any Potions test prior to this one; in fact Tara had had the best marks in that class out of the entire sixth year. Danielle wasn't sure how it had happened, because Potions was Tara's favorite class, and she had spent the night before the test being tutored by Tara, and she had passed. She had pressed Tara to see if anything unusual had occurred, or if she could find any reason for the change, but she could find none. So she had suggested that Tara talk to the Headmaster, and see if Dumbledore could convince Snape to let her friend re-take the test. Danielle scowled. If she could she would go curse their head of house right now. He had flatly refused to allow Tara to retake the test, despite the fact that Tara was his best student. Tara had been crushed, not simply because of the test, but because of his curt, cutting remarks. Sometime during their years at the school her friend had fallen head over heels for the greasy potions master, and it was easy to see just how taken with him she was, though no one dared tease her about it, they all feared the repercussions too much. Snape, of course, treated Danielle just like everyone else, but with the silver-haired girl he was particularly cruel.

Suddenly, Tara stood, startling Danielle from her thoughts. "I nearly forgot. Today is Friday. I have to see Madame Pomfrey. Wanna come with me?" Tara asked as she put her sweater and bag back on. "Of course. I always go with you. We can go to dinner when we're done." She replied, and the two girls left the common room to head to the hospital wing. As they went, Tara kept up a steady stream of cheerful chatter, more for the sake of appearances than because the girl was actually happy, Danielle knew. Danielle lapsed back into her thoughts, and soon they had reached the hospital wing.

The girls entered the infirmary, and headed straight for Madame Pomfrey's office. Tara knocked lightly on the door, and both girls entered the room. Madame Pomfrey was sitting behind her desk, looking through a stack of papers. She looked up at the interruption, and smiled. "It'll be just a moment Tara, I just have to warm it up for you." She turned away to rummage in a small icebox next to her chair, missing the grimace that passed over Tara's face. Seconds later the mediwitch pulled a small bottle of a red liquid from the box and began to pour it into a large mug. When the bottle had been emptied, she withdrew her wand and cast a charm over the liquid to warm it. "Go on then, dear, drink up." She said and pushed the glass towards Tara. The young witch took a seat and picked up the mug, drinking its contents as quickly as she could. She waited a moment before teasing, "Madame Pomfrey, I've been such a good girl, don't you think you can give me a little hint who the donor is?"

The woman behind the desk smiled, watching the girl's cheeks begin to warm and her eyes take more of their original color. "If only I could, but we were asked not to reveal his identity." A second later Madame Pomfrey realized her slip-up and gasped, both girls were now giggling excitedly. "Girls, please, do not try to find out who it is. Please?" the old witch asked. Both promised, but their words were obviously only said to please the mediwitch. Tara stood, and thanked Madame Pomfrey, and the girls bolted from the office, stopping once they were safely outside the hospital wing to giggle and speculate on who Tara's donor was. "Well," Danielle started, "when you first, you know, changed, did Dumbledore mention anything about who would be donating blood for you?" "No, he just said that he'd be asking for a volunteer from the staff and older students, he never said who." Tara answered. "I do wonder though, I mean since I have been living off their blood for two years now." She continued. Then she laughed. "I really can't believe after all this time she finally slipped up. Oh, I do wonder who it is!"

Danielle stared at her friend. She hadn't seen Tara in this good of a mood for a long time and it was refreshing. Tara had slowly slipped into a downward spiral of depression the summer before their fourth year, while visiting her home in Louisiana. Tara had continued to spend summers in her former home, (her parents still owned their plantation house), usually on her own, since her parents couldn't take the time off work to go with her. That summer Danielle had spent with Tara, and it had been one of the best summers of her life. That is, until a few weeks before the return to Hogwarts. One night, after a particularly frightening nightmare, Danielle had awoken to her friend's scream. She had rushed to find Tara as quickly as she could, searching room after room. Finally she had found her, lying on the terrace, in a pool of blood, barely breathing. Danielle had dragged the limp girl to one of the porch chairs, and sent an owl off to Dumbledore, the only person she could think of at the time. Within an hour he had arrived with Madame Pomfrey, and they had examined Tara, only to find that the girl was dead, but still animate. Dumbledore had left shortly after, leaving Madame Pomfrey to care for both girls, and find a fresh supply of blood for Tara, who would wake with a terrible thirst. Danielle had, of course volunteered, after all, vampire or no, Tara was still her best friend. They survived the next two weeks, helping Tara adjust to her new lifestyle, and testing out all the old myths. They quickly discovered that crosses, crucifixes, running water, sunlight, and silver did her no harm, but that garlic made her nauseous, and she did have the compulsion to pick up thorns and rice, and untie shoelaces. They also discovered, much to their delight, that her tears, depending on whether they were of sorrow or joy would become either ash or diamonds, when caught in her hands. The girls had kept Tara's condition as much of a secret as possible, only the school staff and Danielle knew why Tara made a trip every week to the hospital wing. "Danny! Danny!!!! Hey!! Pay attention!!!!" Tara suddenly shouted in her friend's ear. "C'mon or we're gonna miss dinner!" And with that, both girls were off, leaving all dark thoughts behind them.

Meanwhile, in the Dungeons

Snape cursed as he collapsed in his chair, clutching a wrinkled letter from the headmaster in one hand, a bottle of firewhisky in the other. The whole situation was preposterous! He wouldn't allow it, but what choice did he have. He couldn't very well go against the headmaster's express wishes. Trying to grasp the new situation, he reread the letter.

_Dear Severus, _

_It has recently come to my attention that one of your students, Miss Tara Landers, has been suffering in her studies for a short while. I discussed the situation with Miss Landers and her parents earlier, and have come to a conclusion as to why. It would seem that since for some time now, she has been suffering from a rather nasty recurring nightmare. In order to discover the origins of the dream, and reason she continues to have it, she will be now be spending Fridays in London to uncover the meaning of said dream. Due to this however, she will not only be missing her potions classes, but unable to continue spending her nights unsupervised. Therefore, I am asking that, as you will be required to make and administer to the young lady a draught to record her dreams, you allow her to stay with you, in your personal quarters, and give her potions lessons on Saturdays. _

_Headmaster Dumbledore_

_P.S. You might also want to inform the young lady that you are, and have been, her donor, it may make things a bit easier on her. _

Snape cursed again, and threw his bottle of firewhisky into the fire, where it shattered, spilling its contents, and causing the fire to flare up. Damn Dumbledore, this would never work, how the hell was he supposed to get any work done with the little twit around? He cursed himself for not allowing her to retake the test in the first place. If he had maybe he wouldn't have to deal with this. He had only said no because he hadn't intended to count it against her. She was the brightest student he had taught since Hermione Granger, better even, than Miss Granger had been when it came to potions. He still wasn't at all sure how the girl had ended up in his house, she possessed few qualities that would recommend her for Slytherin house, but somehow she had managed to get in.

Unsure of what he should do, the potions master fixed himself a quick drink, swallowed it down as quickly as he could manage, and left his quarters to go to dinner, where he would give Dumbledore a piece of his mind.


	2. A New Arrangement

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep

A Harry Potter FanFiction

By Ariane Douleur

Hey everybody! I'm back with Chapters two and three! I was only going to put up chapter two, but since I'd already written chapter three as well, I couldn't not post it. Thanks to Jessica, StelaMaris, ThouandI, Sesshomaru's Angel, and Ary; I love hearing from you guys. I hope you like Chapters 2 &3, if you do, you know what to do. Later!

Ariane

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

**Chapter 2- A New Arrangement**

Tara and Danielle made their way to the Great Hall, where they quickly found seats at the Slytherin table and began eating. Within minutes however, dinner was interrupted when the doors to the hall were slammed open, causing almost all heads to swivel to catch a look at who was making such a commotion. Tara and Danielle were too engrossed in their discussion, trying to discover just who Tara's donor was to pay much attention. They didn't notice Professor Snape was standing directly behind them until Tara felt an ice cold hand wrap tightly around her wrist, pulling her to her feet. Without a thought the girl broke his hold on her, and stared at him. "Professor Snape. What-"she started, but he cut her off. "Miss Landers, if you will please come with me, I need to have a word with the Headmaster, you will _kindly_ join us." He sneered at her, his voice filled with anger and his gaze steely cold, making the girl shrink back into herself as though hit. "Y-yes sir, please, just let me gather my things." She stammered, as she knelt down, picking up her bag and sweater, and followed her house head to the front of the hall, then into a small chamber located off the great hall. Snape indicated her to sit in one of the room's chairs, then left to get the headmaster.

Dumbledore entered the room first, followed by the still irate Professor. Tara stood as they came back into the room, unsure of why she was here. "Now, Professor, please tell me why you have called myself and Miss Landers away from our dinners." The headmaster commanded. "The arrangement is not at all satisfactory, Headmaster, as you well know. I cannot, will not, allow this to happen." Snape spat out. Tara watched both men, confused about what was going on. Snape seemed to remember that she was still there, and he looked at her as though she were some potion gone terribly wrong, before turning back to Dumbledore. "You haven't told her yet, have you?" His rage seemed somewhat punctured; there was a resigned look on his face. "I imagine that there is no way I can change this, that neither she nor I have a say in this?" he continued. "No, Professor Snape, I am afraid there is no way to change the arrangements now, her parents have already been informed and agree completely with my solution. As to whether I have told her or not, I have not. I leave that up to you, as her Head of House. And now I am returning to my dinner." With that said, the headmaster turned and retreated to the Great Hall, leaving Tara staring at his back in confusion and Snape cursing again.

"Ugh... Professor Snape," Tara started quietly, not wanting to anger the man more than he already was, but unwilling to remain uninformed any longer. "What arrangements were you and the Headmaster discussing? If it pertains to me, then I should like to know what you were talking about." Snape didn't speak, just motioned for her to sit back down in the chair. "It would seem that the Headmaster has arranged with your parents for you to spend Fridays in London, to discover the meaning behind a dream you have been having." Sarcasm laced his voice, making it evident that he didn't believe her story about the dream at all. "As a result of this, you will be making up the potions classes that you will miss on Saturdays. Also, as I am now required to give you a potion to record your dreams, you will be moving out of the sixth year Slytherin dormitories." He stopped, and Tara was shocked. It took her a moment to process the information he had given her. When she finally grasped the magnitude of what was happening, she could barely believe it. To calm herself down, in a whisper, she asked "Then, Professor Snape, where will I be living?" terrified of the forthcoming response. The man in front of her seemed to take a moment to collect himself, and he turned away from her before answering. "With me. You will move your things into my chambers tonight."

Tara gasped in shock, this couldn't be happening. She didn't realize she had stood and moved to the door muttering, "N-no, no, this can't be happening. No, no, it simply can't be" as tears rolled down her face, until Snape's voice brought her back to her senses. "Oh, and Miss Landers, you will no longer need to report to Madame Pomfrey's every Friday, I will no longer be leaving your donation with her, instead, I will be administering it along with the potion to monitor your dreams." Though she never turned around, she could practically hear him sneering. Unable to control herself any longer, she ran out of the tiny chamber, out of the Great Hall, and out of the school. Finally, she stopped at the shore of the lake, and threw herself down on a patch of soft grass, burying her head in her arms.

A few moments later Danielle joined her, out of breath from running after her friend. "What happened? What did he do? I swear, if that smarmy bastard did anything to hurt you, then I'll... I'll curse him into oblivion!" she exclaimed as she rubbed the crying girl's back lightly. Tara slowly sat up and faced her friend, tears still shimmering in her eyes. "N-no, he didn't." She hiccupped, then continued, wailing. "He hates me! This is all my fault! If I hadn't said a thing, none of this would have happened." "Slow down, Ta, and tell me the whole story, okay?" Danielle commanded. Slowly Tara began to tell her exactly what had happened. "And so now I have to move out of the sixth year rooms, and take a potion every night to record my dreams." She told her friend. "Wait, Ta, if you're moving out of the dormitory, then where will you be living? Are they putting you in another house?" Danielle asked curiosity getting the better of her. At this Tara turned even more pale than she was before, all color going from the girl's face, making her look about to faint. "It... well, I will be taking up residence in Snape's personal quarters. Dumbledore and my parent's decided it would be the best course of action, since he's the head of house and all." She paused, and then blurted out "And I found out who my donor is. Snape. And he said that from now on, he'll be giving me my weekly... you know, when I get back from London. He'll be doing it personally, every Friday." She finished, and collapsed back onto the grass.

"Wait, you mean... Snape's your donor?" Danielle could barely contain her surprise. "I never would have guessed Snape would do that for you. And now, well, now you get to live with him, in his quarters. Did he say how long you'll be living there for?" Tara shook her head, indicating she had no idea. "Hey, it's ok, after all, you do get to spend all that extra time with your favorite professor!" Danielle teased. She was rewarded with a small smile from her friend, and she took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Tara. Tara wiped her face, and stood. "You're right, of course, I should be ecstatic. I just can't help feeling as though he'll hate me for this." She grimaced. Well, I suppose there's no help for it; I'll just have to try to get this worked out as quickly as possible. I should probably go pack. He said I'll be moving tonight." And with that they set off to go pack Tara's stuff for her move.

Back in the small chamber off the Great Hall

Snape slammed his fist into one of the stonewalls of the chamber. Damn Dumbledore, and damn himself. The girl was quite clearly upset at the news of their situation. Not that he had expected anything else, but for some reason, her reaction had cut him. He had was aware that he was had never been very nice to the girl, but he had never expected that she would cry at the news. And now he was doomed to spend his nights taking care of the little witch, and his days reviewing her dreams. 'How could I have gotten myself into this mess?' He wondered, pacing the small chamber. Then he remembered that he had told the girl to move in straight away. He cursed yet again, and stormed out of the chamber, startling the students who were still eating dinner. Without a glance at the headmaster he swept out of the great hall, and made his way to his private potions storeroom. He quickly gathered the necessary ingredients for the draught he needed to make for Miss Landers, and set about mixing the ingredients.

He emerged from his office an hour and a half later a large bottle of bright blue liquid clutched in his hand. He quickly made his way to the Slytherin common room, muttering the password to gain entrance, startling the students who were studying in the room. Seeing that Miss Landers was not in the common room, he sent another sixth year girl to retrieve her. Moments later, she and her friend emerged from their room, carrying her bags and trunk. Snape motioned for them to follow him, and then led the way down the hall to his private chambers. Once they had set Miss Landers' things down, he sent the girl's friend back to her dormitory. "Now, Miss Landers, the password is 'Noir', I expect you to remember it. You will be back here every night at precisely 9 o'clock sharp. I'll show you where to put your things." Snape picked up her bag and started towards one of the rooms off the main living area. When she didn't follow immediately he stopped and turned around to face her. "Well? Are you coming Miss Landers? We haven't got all night." Tara reluctantly picked up her trunk and began to drag it into the room her professor was heading for.

When she reached the doorway she stopped, and looked at the room. The walls were hung in silver and deep green fabric, which matched the sheets and pillows on the bed. There was a tall dark wood dresser on one wall, and a writing desk on another, while the bed was set against a third. On one side of the bed was a night table; on the other side was a chair. Snape stood by the bed, moving a few things from a small nightstand, which he put in a small bag. He then proceeded to the dresser, where he began opening drawers and reorganizing the clothes inside. It was then that she realized that this was his room. "Ugh.. Professor... What is it you're doing?" she asked quietly. "I am trying to make this room more comfortable for you, as the headmaster requested, since you will be staying in my quarters." He fell silent as he continued moving things around. "Now Miss Landers, you will use the top three drawers for your things, and you have the bed table also. Do NOT, for any reason, open the desk, do you understand Miss Landers?" he paused to stare at her before continuing on. "Now, I am going to leave so that you may get changed, then I will be back to show you where the bathroom is, and to administer the potion." Finished saying his piece, he stalked from the room, closing the door behind him.


	3. Moving In, The Dream

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep 

A Harry Potter FanFiction

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

**Chapter 3- Moving In/ The Dream**

Tara quickly set to putting her clothes in drawers before choosing a pair of long pajama pants and a t-shirt. Both were deep midnight blue with tiny celestial bodies that were enchanted to move in time to the night sky. She slipped out of her school robes and pulled her nightclothes on. When she was through, she took her bag and moved to sit on the bed, where she began to put her things in the nightstand. In went a small photo book from when she had lived in Louisiana, a few trinkets from the trips she had taken with her parents, her CD player, and her diary, along with a few other random odds and ends. Tara was putting a picture of her parents next to a picture of Danielle and herself in front of her plantation house and a framed sketch of the man who had been her sire, when Snape knocked on the door. Hastily she set the picture down and moved to open the door. Snape sneered down at her and she blushed. "Lovely pajamas" he drawled. "If you will follow me, I will show you where the bathroom is." He walked out of the door and she followed him as she showed her around, then he lead her back to the bedroom.

Snape was having a rather hard not smiling at the girl's pajamas. He hadn't seen a pair like them in all his years, in fact, he'd seen very few pairs of pajamas in his years. Still, he thought as he pulled himself together, she was taking this rather well, now that the initial disgust was gone. He finished giving her a tour of the rooms they were to be sharing, and left her to use the bathroom, while he went back to the main room. Snape took a seat in one of the chairs by the fire to wait for the young witch to finish. As the minutes ticked by, Snape felt himself drifting deeper and deeper into thought. How am I ever going to emerge from this sane? He wondered. The girl, Tara, was his star pupil, and he knew he was hard on her. If she didn't hate him already she most likely would by the end of her time here. Not that he was hard on her because he disliked her, no he was hard on her because he actually liked her. He, Snape, actually found pleasure in the girls company. Which he found rather hard to believe that a person as cold and heartless as himself could actually still feel. He had only been cruel because it seemed the harder on her he was, the better she did with her potions.

Tara retrieved her toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, and brush from the bedroom and padded softly into the bathroom. She set her things on the counter and pulled her hair back into a quick ponytail. Looking around she found a small piece of soap, she had forgotten hers when she gathered her stuff, and washed her face quickly. Unwilling to take more time than necessary she brushed her teeth and then removed the tie holding her hair. Taking up her brush she ran it through her silver hair, time and time again, letting the soothing motion calm her and bring her a small measure of peace. When she was finished she moved out of the small room, back into the main living area, where Snape was sitting in one of the high-backed wing chairs waiting for her.

Once he was aware she was finished, Snape brought her back to the bedroom and told her to sit down and wait for him to get the potion. He moved to the desk, took out a key from a pocket in his robes. He could feel her staring at his back. He opened the lid of the desk and took out the bottle of blue potion and a small goblet. Turning back to her he poured a measure of potion into the goblet and handed it to the girl. "Drink it all. Once you are finished, you will become rather drowsy, I expect. The potion will create a kind of movie of your dreams, allowing them to be better analyzed. Now then, drink up." Tara looked at the blue liquid in the goblet, held her nose and swallowed it down, nearly gagging at the horrid taste of it. Rather quickly she did feel, as Snape had said she would, drowsy. Before she realized it, she was lying down, and Snape had moved the chair to sit by the bed.

Tara lifted her head enough so that she could see his face. Where he had previously been sneering down at her, he was now staring curiously at the sketch she had done of her sire. "Miss Landers, who is this man? Did you draw this?" Snape found himself asking as he gestured at the image. "Oh, that… well, he's my sire. I don't know why I keep that old thing. I just can't seem to get rid of it. Not that I haven't tried. I always find myself making another if I do. He's just so… perfect… and…" She drifted off mid-sentence, leaving Snape to contemplate what she was about to say. For a short time he simply sat there, watching her sleep, wondering about this strange girl who now shared his private space. Then he stood and worked to maneuver the covers out from in under her and then cover her with them before he sat back down while avoiding touching her.

For a while Snape waited for her dreams to start. Then, just as he was moving to go try to make himself comfortable on the couch in the living area, it happened. An image began to form above the girl's head, roughly a foot and a half by a foot and a half. Curious, Snape sat down on the foot of the bed to watch the girls dream unfold. At first it was blurry, but slowly it became sharper, the shapes forming into what was easily recognized as the house she had once lived in. It was a beautiful white antebellum mansion, surrounded by trees resplendent in their greenery. The house itself was a great contrast against the darkness of the blue velvet of the night sky. On the porch stood Tara, dressed in a sheer white nightdress and barefoot, her long hair hanging down her back loosely. As Snape watched the dream-Tara moved off the porch and approached one of the trees. Despite the darkness of the dream, the potions master could easily make out a person standing behind the tree. He had to bite down the urge to wake the sleeping girl up, but instead he clenched his fists and assured himself that the sooner this was over the sooner she could move out. Still, it took him a good deal of effort to not do anything.

Then, the dream-Tara moved to embrace the shadowed person who, as Snape discovered when a sliver of moonlight fell on them, was her sire. Now the potions master was forced to fight down a very unexpected wave of jealously. It didn't last for very long, since the dream quickly took a violent turn. As he watched in horror, Tara's sire leaned in and drew a small knife from his cloak, which he plunged deep into the dream-Tara's chest. Still, the dream girl clung to the man, her eyes showing her pain and heartbreak. Then, shocking the usually unflappable professor even more, another man ran up behind the two, kneeling by the girls side as she slid to the ground, begging her to stay with him. For a moment Snape stared at his own face before realizing that the real Tara was thrashing wildly around, gasping for breath. Professor Snape moved quickly to her side and tried to shake her awake, but it seemed the girl was trapped in her dream world. Giving in, but not giving up, Snape settled for trying to hold the girl immobile. Unfortunately for him, she was much stronger, and she had quickly freed herself from his grasp. Unsure of what to do, Snape tried to restrain her again, and this time he managed to do so. She was still dreaming, but though he didn't want to watch, he had no real choice, he was on Dumbledore's orders to watch her dreams and then leave them in a pensive. He watched as he continued to restrain her, once again unable to look away as the man who was him in the dream bent down and begged the dream-Tara to forgive him.

Snape wasn't sure how he understood what they were saying; all he knew was that he did understand. Then the dream began to go out of focus, but somehow though the haze he heard the dream-Tara whisper "I love you. There is nothing to forgive." before the dream faded out completely. Disturbed by what he had seen, Snape was snapped back to reality when he realized that the real Tara was no longer struggling and that her breathing had returned to normal. He also realized, rather quickly, that in his haste to restrain the small girl, he had climbed on top of her, and was straddling her hips. Still asleep, Tara moaned softly and shifted her position ever so slightly, making her hips brush against her potion master's thighs. A single tear ran down her face and, on impulse, he leaned down and brushed the tear away, surprised when she whimpered as though in pain.

Then realizing what he had done, he threw himself off the bed, and stalked to the dresser, removing a pair of green and silver striped pajamas from his drawers. Snape padded out of the door, and into the bathroom. Quickly he shed his robes and dressed himself in his pajamas. He moved into the main room, and conjured a blanket, fluffing the pillows that were already on the couch. Snape lay down, but after a few minutes realized how futile it was when all he could think about was the young girl sleeping in his bed. Cursing the fate that brought him to his, the potions master conjured a large bottle of firewhisky, which he downed in a record fifteen minutes. With a sigh, he lay back down, and promptly fell to sleep.


	4. The First Morning

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep

A Harry Potter FanFiction

By Ariane Douleur

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

**Chapter 4- The first Morning**

Tara woke the next morning feeling tired, disoriented, and sick. She passed off the sick feeling as hunger. The last time she had eaten was yesterday morning, she had missed lunch to do some research and dinner because of the news of her new situation. With that thought came the memory that she was sleeping in the bed that Snape usually slept in, and she gasped, trying to remember what he had asked her before she drifted off. She couldn't remember. Nor could she remember what exactly she had dreamed of, but she was sure it was the same as always. She rolled over to face the small nightstand and was surprised to see a small scrap of parchment sitting amid her pictures. Tara struggled to sit up and ran a hand through her hair before she picked up the note. "_Miss Landers. I must attend to a number of things, you have the run of my chambers until I return, try to do something productive if you must stay inside. Professor S. Snape._" Tara read the note and then set it back down on the night table. Tara glanced at the clock on one of the walls, and realized that it was well after noon.

Still feeling a bit off she stood and started towards the dresser, intending to dress and go to lunch. Immediately a wave of nausea rolled over her, sending her to her knees. Tara struggled back to her feet, fighting the need to be sick, and made her way to the bathroom as quickly as she could. Once more, the girl dropped to her knees, this time next to the toilet. Clumsily she pushed the lid up, and retched time and again into the bowl, until the waves of vomit turned into dry heaves. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the need to be sick subsided. Slowly, Tara pulled herself to her feet using the sink as an anchor. Once standing she ran the water until it was cool, then splashed handfuls over her face and swished it around her mouth to rid it of the taste of vomit. Still wave after wave of dizziness washed over her, and she had to fight to make the room stay still. Tara turned, and moved towards the main room, yet before she got even halfway into the room she collapsed on the floor. Still she struggled, trying to reach the bedroom, but it was not meant to be. Blackness overcame her, dragging her into the sweet grasp of oblivion.

A few hours later

Snape was upset, more than usual. And he had very good reason to be. How many other teachers could say that they were sharing their chambers with a student, who, if her dreams were any indication at all, was quite in love with him? He certainly didn't know why. He wasn't the least bit attractive, and he had very few redeeming qualities, unlike that blasted sire of hers, who was the picture of beauty and perfection, despite that the creature also seemed to be even more cold-hearted than he was. Snape scowled, and dropped himself down in his chair at the head table in the great hall. He had gotten very little sleep the night before, and had spent hours in Hogsmeade looking for the supplies he had needed to replace. When he had arrived back at the school he had quickly brought them to his private office, resisting the urge to duck into his chambers and see if the Landers girl was still there.

Now, as he sat waiting for lunch to start, he scanned the Slytherin table for the cursed girl, but couldn't find her among the other students, though he did manage to find her friend, Danielle something or other. The potions master shook himself and turned to find that the headmaster had taken the seat to his right. Dumbledore seemed to be smirking at something. "And what, Headmaster, is so funny?" Snape bit out. "Ah, Severus. It would seem that your young charge is not at lunch. I trust the two of you are getting along alright?" the headmaster questioned. "Fabulously." Snape said, thankful that the house elves had chosen that moment to fill the tables with plate after mountainous plate of food, giving him and excuse not to go into detail about the previous night.

Throughout the meal, Snape could not help but watch the doors, expecting to see his charge come traipsing through them laughing and smiling as she sat with her friends. But she did not. Worry began to eat at his insides, but he pushed it down and continued to eat, until, finally he could take no more. As his chair slid across the floor it scrapped in protest, causing the headmaster and a few student to give him curious glances, which he ignored. He left quietly, trying to attract as little attention as possible, making his way out of the hall and down towards the dungeons. Merlin help the little twit if she was doing something stupid, he found himself thinking, much to his dismay. Still, he could not shake the feeling that there was more to it than the laziness of a silly girl.

When he reached the door to his chambers he fairly shouted his password, making the portrait that stood guard cringe and scold him that there was no need for shouting in the halls. The portrait swung open, and Snape stepped into his chambers, heading for the bedroom. He got only five paces when he found himself lying on the floor, on top of his charge. Shocked to find her lying in the middle of the floor, the potions master hadn't even seen her there until he had tripped over her. Now though, he moved to sit next to the girl and got a better look at her. Her skin was pale and cold, but flushed with fever. A quick look around the room determined that she had come from the bathroom, where she had most likely been sick in the toilet. Snape put a hand to her forehead, trying to discover just how high the fever she had was and found that not only was the girl sweating profusely, but shaking as well. Unsure of why the girl was sick or what exactly he should do, he decided that the best course of action would be to get the child to the bed, and try to bring down her fever.

Withdrawing his wand from inside his robes, Snape cast a hover charm over Tara, making it easy for him to guide her into the bedroom and onto the bed. Once she was floating above the bed, he let the charm go and she fell a few inches onto the mattress. Much to his discomfort, the girl wasn't moving at all, and she didn't appear to be breathing. "Damn it, Miss Landers, this is not at all funny." Snape took her by her shoulders and shook her, at which the girl gasped and seemed to come awake. Tara's eyes opened, but she could make out nothing, other than that someone was holding her shoulders, shaking her. She wondered who it could be, and decided that it would have to be Danielle, though it didn't smell like Danielle. Still, she pushed the idea that it was someone else off, deciding that there was no other person it could be. Without a thought she launched herself into the arms of the person shaking her, wrapping her own arms around their midsection, and burying her face in their shoulder.

For his part, Snape tried to remain as still as possible, especially when she had thrown her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. After a few moments he tied to pry her off, but she clung all the more tightly. Never having been in a situation like this before, Snape had no idea what he should do to make the girl release him. Eventually he settled on rubbing his hand in circles on her back, and after a time, her grip on him began to ease. Now he could still feel her breath through his robes, hot on his shoulder, but she was no longer awake. Gently he pushed her back down on the bed, lying her on the pillow, and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. For a moment he sat there, watching her sleep, then he stood and walked quickly to the bathroom, conjuring a bowl as he went. The bowl he filled with cool water, and brought back to the bedroom. Then he conjured a towel and dipped it into the water, ringing it out before he placed the cool cloth on her forehead.

For hours Snape sat next to the bed, dipping the towel in the water every so often, watching Tara and wondering what it was about the girl that, as much as he hated to admit it, attracted him so. From the moment she had arrived at the school, he had been attracted to her quick wit and pretty face. He wasn't entirely sure when she had begun to melt his ice front, but as the years went on he had found more and more reasons to like the girl, biggest among them was her skill at making potions. He had, of course, fought his attraction as hard as he could, giving her extra work and detentions that she took without a single complaint, but now it seemed to no avail. No matter what he did, he could not get her off his mind. And now it was worse than ever, knowing that she would spend every night for Merlin knew how long in his bed, while he slept on the couch a room away. And now she couldn't even manage to let him have a small measure of peace, she had to be ill, leaving him to take care of her.

On the bed, Tara began to shiver, curling up in a small ball atop the bedspread. The potions master reached out a hand, placing it on her forehead, which burned with a fever still. With a muffled curse, Snape moved to the dresser and took from a drawer a large, soft green blanket, which he lay on top of the girl. Still, her shaking did not subside. Looking around, Snape realized that he had nothing else to cover her with, unless he wanted to try to maneuver her under the blankets she was lying on. Unwilling to do so, Snape wracked his brain for another option, coming up with the option of either conjuring up another blanket or using his own body heat to keep her warm. Without a thought, he chose the later of the two, and moved around to the other side of the bed, lying down next to the shaking girl. Wrapping her in the blankets, he pulled her close, cradling her in his arms, willing her shivers to subside. When she shifted in his arms, turning to bury her head in his chest once more, he did not move, merely stayed as still as possible, holding her tight. Gradually her shivers subsided, and he continued to hold her though he had drifted off to join his charge in sleep at some point.


	5. To Cuddle or Not To Cuddle?

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep

A Harry Potter FanFiction

By Ariane Douleur

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

**Chapter 5- To Cuddle or not to Cuddle?**

Sometime late Saturday evening Tara woke up, still feeling tired, a bit sick, but not about to throw up again, and comfortably warm. The thin girl stretched and yawned, but didn't open her eyes. Feeling a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, she burrowed deeper into the embrace, and sighed with pleasure. Tara was curious to know who the person holding her was, but fearing the whole thing to be a dream, she left her eyes closed and satisfied herself by breathing in the person's scent. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that her mystery embracer smelled faintly of cedar and rain, reminding her of her home in Louisiana. Caught up in a school girl's fantasy, she imagined that to be the way Professor Snape would smell, if she could ever get close enough to smell him. Now curiosity ate her alive, and she could no longer hold back. With a sigh, she turned her face up towards her embracer's face, and opened her eyes. When she saw who was holding her, Tara stifled a gasp, and tried to squirm out of her potion master's grasp, only to have him mumble incoherently in his sleep and pull her closer to him. Tara could feel her cheeks burn bright red, and she forced herself to lie still in her professor's embrace.

A good amount of time passed, and still Snape did not wake, merely continued to hold Tara close as he slept. Finally, unable to take the close proximity any longer, Tara shifted, and at the same time, so did Snape. Their lips met, and as they did the potion master's eyes opened as he came awake. Tara blushed red again, but didn't pull away. Neither did Snape, though he too blushed. Aware that she was kissing her professor, she still couldn't keep herself from deepening the kiss, angling her head to fit her mouth better to his. Tara's small movement was enough to jolt the professor back to his senses, and he quickly pushed her away, looking as though he had kissed some kind of particularly nasty bug. Tara had pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the bed when he had jumped up so suddenly, and was studying him intently from her perch.

Unsure whether she should be insulted or simply shocked, she blurted out "Professor Snape, I don't know what came over me. I won't say I'm sorry that happened, because I'm not," Tara clenched her fist and continued, unable to tell if he was even listening to her. "I've wanted to kiss you for years. I am sorry if it upset you, and if you hate me, I understand completely." Still, Professor Snape sat on his side of the bed, with the same look on his face. "Fine. I can see that you do then. I'll just get my things and go. I'm sure I can work some other arrangement out with the headmaster." Tara stood and fought the dizziness that assaulted her, refusing to show any weakness in front of this man. She made her way to the dresser, removed a pair of school robes, and stormed out into the main room, heading for the hall. Somehow, before she managed to get the door open completely she found that it was shut in front of her by a strong hand next to her head. Tara turned and pressed herself against the cool wood, and looked deep into the eyes of her professor.

"Miss Landers. If I hated you, if I had not wanted that kiss at all in any way, it would not have occurred." Snape drawled. Tara found herself lost in his eyes, barely hearing what he was saying to her. "Tara. My name is Tara." She found herself telling him, still trapped in his gaze. "Tara" Her name sounded so different when he said it, as though he were caressing it, making it his own. Hearing it brought Tara back to her senses, and she shuddered involuntarily. "Professor Snape" she answered, but anything else she might have had in mind to say was cut off when his head dipped down, bringing his lips to meet hers for the second time that morning. The kiss was chaste enough, but it was soft and sweet. Tara broke it quickly, and looked down at her still bare feet. Once more, a tide of dizziness swept over her, and her knees gave out in under her, but she managed to keep consciousness. Tara looked up at her professor and caught what, had she not known better, she would have said was a look of worry as it passed over his features. In the next instant it was gone, and he was bending down to take her in his arms. Quickly he carried her to the bedroom and set her down on the bed. "Now. When exactly was the last time you ate, Miss Lan... er... Tara?" he asked her, all business. Tara shook her head, trying to think. "Well, I had breakfast Friday morning, and then I had... well, I saw Madame Pomfrey for my... you know, but nothing since then." As Snape watched, she blushed and turned her head, trying to keep him from seeing her. "Ah, that explains quite a bit then. I imagine you were sick when you woke yesterday?" Tara nodded, still looking away from him. "I see. Has this ever happened before?" He pressed. "No, not that I can remember, Professor Snape." The Slytherin head of house seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well, this must have something to do with the potion I gave you. I shall have to discover a way to alter it. I did not realize that it would have this kind of an effect on a vampire. As to your need for sustenance, you will have to do with what we have here."

Now rather confused, for she was not aware there was any food in Snape's chambers, she turned to look at him, but he had already moved to the desk, and was rummaging around inside it. "Professor, what exactly are you looking for?" Tara asked, and he turned around, holding something shiny and sharp looking in his hand. Tara gasped as she recognized the object as a small dagger. Snape sat back down on the bed, and as she watched in shock, he pulled up one of the sleeves on his robes, exposing a wrist that was nearly as white as hers. "No, Professor, you can't mean to..." "Of course. It would seem there are no other options open to us at the moment, this will have to suffice for the time being." Snape drawled as he brought the tiny blade down and dragged it across his wrist. When he lifted the blade a thin line of blood swelled up, nearly driving Tara mad with thirst. For a second he just watched her, then he extended his wrist to her. Unable to resist the temptation, Tara moved to sit closer to her professor, and took his wrist in her hands. "Professor... I've never done it this way before, are you sure it's alright?" Tara asked, looking up at him. Snape closed his eyes, and nodded. "Yes, I am sure, now, get on with it, please."

Tara smiled, and lowered her mouth to the cut on her professor's wrist, and sucked gently, drinking his blood as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The warm liquid filled her mouth and she was amazed at just how much better blood tasted when it was fresh. Tara let the taste of it wash over her, and with each mouthful she swallowed the better she felt. As she drank she felt the man beside her relax, and she wondered what he was thinking. Unknown to her, Snape found his mind to be quite blissfully blank at the time, he was unable to do more than concentrate on the gentle suction of the girl's lips on his wrist. Finally, after quite a few minutes, Tara stopped drinking, and ran her tongue gently over the cut, feeling him shudder as she did. Tara sat up and scooted back to sit farther back from him on the bed. Concern gripped her immediately, the man across from her was paler than normal, and he seemed to be swaying back and forth.

"Professor?" she asked gently, putting her hand on his shoulder. Snape seemed to mumble something, but she couldn't make it out, even with her preternatural hearing. "What was that Professor Snape?" she queried. "Severus. My name is Severus." "Er, yes. Well then Severus, what do we do now?" "Sleep" he muttered, and gave her a look that said that she must be crazy not to know that this was clearly the most obvious thing in the world. "Alright, then, I suppose we should get some sleep." Tara said, and feeling rather awkward, lay down on the bed. For a minute Snape simply watched as she lay down and rolled onto her side, presenting him with her back. Then unable to stay awake any longer, he lay down next to her, facing her back. Slowly he began to feel himself drifting off to sleep. As he was closing his eyes to give in to oblivion, a small quiet voice jolted him awake. "Uhm, Severus?" Tara had turned to face him. "I was wondering, can we, you know, like we did last night? Would you mind terribly? It's just that it was just so comfortable." She stammered and was rather surprised when he didn't answer her. Instead he took her in his arms again, and let her nestle her head in his chest.

For a very long time Tara simply lay there, locked in Severus' arms, listening to his heart as it beat steadily in his chest. She had tried to reason out just why he didn't seem to mind kissing her, but she couldn't figure it out. He had always been cold, if not downright cruel to her before, but now here she was cuddling with the man. It was just so confusing. None of what she knew about the man a week ago added up with the man she was sharing a bed with. The Professor Snape she had met the first week of school had been a cold, calculating, person who only did something if it was in his best interests. Yet he had apparently been donating his blood to keep her alive for the past four years. She knew that much for certain now, his blood had tasted the same as the blood she drank every Friday in the hospital wing. Tara let out a tiny groan, and cursed her sire for making her what she was. If he hadn't changed her into a vampire the night on her terrace she would have died, but at least she wouldn't be so confused about everything. Eventually she gave up thinking, and went back to listening to the professor's even breathing, falling off to sleep a short time later. Both teacher and student slept quite comfortably until the next morning.


	6. Musings

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep

A Harry Potter FanFiction

By Ariane Douleur

**Notice: **The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

**Chapter 6- Musings**

It was mid-Sunday morning when Tara again became aware of the world around her. Slowly she became conscious of an arm resting across her stomach. It was a pleasant sensation and she imagined for a few seconds a man with shoulder-length black hair and black eyes. For a few seconds she smiled at the mental image, until the black hair dissolved into blonde and the black eyes took on a blue hue as Tara recognized her sire. "Lucian" She muttered, and a cold shiver ran down her spine. He had left her immediately after he had changed her, but before he did he had whispered that he would be back for her. His words had haunted her for well over a year, frightening her so badly that she hadn't even visited her home in Louisiana. Eventually her homesickness won out, she now made it a point not to let anyone or any fear rule her life, and enjoyed her trips home more than ever.

Tara smiled, thinking about the next time she would get to visit home. At the end of the year she would spend a week in London with her parents before flying home. Her parents had wanted to sell the house, but she had threatened to buy it back from who ever they sold it to. Knowing that their daughter was set on having the old mansion, they had given in and simply deeded her the house. They never visited with her; they refused to have anything to do with the old house, except that they continued to pay for the upkeep of it. Tara knew everybody thought she was spoiled, but of all the things her parents gave her the only one she had ever cared about was the southern plantation. All the rest of it was their lame attempts to compensate for never spending time with her. Tara sighed, and pushed all thoughts of her parents from her mind. She had to get through the rest of the year, then she'd get to spend the summer at home.

Unwilling to spend all of her weekend lying about doing nothing, she managed to pry herself from the arms of her still-sleeping potions master. Quietly she gathered a set of robes and toiletries, unable to stand the unwashed feeling that clung to her. Tara took her things into the bathroom and showered quickly, wanting to be gone before Snape woke and remembered how they had spent the night. When she emerged from the bathroom her hair was still dripping, she had forgone use of a blow dryer to keep from waking her professor, but she felt much better. Tara walked back into the bedroom, to make sure that Snape was still asleep and put her things away. With a barely contained grin at the sleeping man, she rummaged around, finding a pen and paper to leave her professor a note with.

Tara stood, intent on leaving, but on an impulse she leaned over and brushed away a strand of black hair that had fallen over Snape's eyes and the potions master shifted slightly. Tara held her breath, praying that he wouldn't wake up, she really didn't want to be around when he remembered just what had happened yesterday. When she finally decided that it was safe to move she gathered her things and left the potion master's chambers. In the hallway Tara paused to look around, she wasn't sure but she thought she was something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see who or what it was, but found no one there. With a smile Tara dismissed it as a ghost and started down the hall, towards the Great Hall.

A few moments later Tara stood before the large wooden doors, hesitant to go in after the scene she and Snape had caused last time she was there. Finally her hunger won out over her embarrassment, and she pushed one of the large doors open and slipped inside. The hall was filled with students, and golden sunlight shone in from the enchanted ceiling. No one seemed to notice Tara, and she muttered a quick prayer of thanks that everyone had moved on to the next bit of gossip. Tara moved to sit in an empty chair at the Slytherin table, one that was thankfully surrounded with other empty seats. She had no desire to deal with the teasing her housemates would treat her to. Tara smiled and dug into the small mountain of food in front of her with obvious relish.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind, and Tara yelped and jumped nearly a foot and a half in the air. Danielle dropped into the seat next to her, giggling. "Hey there, what's got you so jumpy this morning? You should have seen the way Snape stormed out of here yesterday, you must be getting under his skin, huh? Oh, and where were you yesterday? I was worried about you!" Tara shot her friend a glare, but giggled under her breath. "Well, I'm I soooo /I sorry!" Tara managed to get out through her giggles, which she couldn't seem to suppress. "I was sick actually. Professor Snape took care of me, and I feel much better now." She said in low tones, making sure no one was listening. Danielle seemed to be having a hard time imagining Snape taking care of anyone. "Where is Professor Snape anyway? I don't see him at the Head Table." Danielle teased, craning her neck to see over the other students. "Oh..." Tara blushed as she continued. "Well, I didn't wake him up when I left, so I imagine he's still asleep." "What do you mean 'you didn't wake him up'? Why would you? Is he that light of a sleeper?" Danielle blurted, unable to contain her questions.

In the seat next to her Tara blanched, and began to fidget. Danielle sighed, this was going to be as much fun as pulling teeth, if nothing else, her friend was stubborn. "Er... Well... Um" Tara stammered, unsure how to explain what had happened. "Oh just get on with it already and tell me!" Danielle commanded. "Alright, alright! First off, he is actually quite a deep sleeper. Secondly, I didn't want to wake him because he deserves some sleep after taking care of me all day. And," Tara continued, turning to whisper in her friend's ear. "It was hard not to wake him up because I wasn't sure if moving his arms would wake him up." Danielle's jaw dropped so far. Tara was sure that it would hit the floor. Tara watched her friend bluster for a moment, then stood and took her hand. Tara pulled her friend to her feet and dragged her towards the exit of the Great Hall.

Tara practically dragged her friend out of the cavernous room, not stopping until they reached an empty classroom. Quickly Tara scanned the room, making sure that Peeves wasn't hiding in some dark corner, and shut the door behind her. Danielle seemed to have gotten over her shock and was advancing on Tara, looking rather disheveled after their run. "What. Do. You. Mean. 'Move his arm'." Tara was surprised that steam wasn't coming out of her friend's ears. "Danny, it's ok, I swear! Nothing terrible happened. We just cuddled, really, that's all." Had Danielle not been looking ready to strangle her, she would have laughed at the way her friend's mouth moved up and down like a fish's. "You. Snape. Cuddle?" Danielle asked, trying so hard to picture the normally unpleasant professor doing anything so docile as cuddling, that she was unable to form complete sentences. "Yes, we did. It was rather nice, I must say." Tara replied; then unable to restrain herself, she sighed dramatically and continued. "He actually smells really good. Like the trees back home after the rain." And so Tara told Danielle everything that had happened, leaving out only the two kisses. Those, she rationed, were special, and she wanted them to say secret for just a little while longer.

By the time she was through, both girls were seated on comfortable cushions on the floor. Tara watched her friend, who seemed to be taking the whole thing rather well. Abruptly, Danielle glanced at the clock. "Holy crap! I gotta go, I need to get ready for the match! Oh man, oh man! You will come watch, right? Not gonna go cuddle with your professor, are you? Danielle asked as she stood and brushed off her pants. Tara held out her hand and Danny helped her up. "Of course I'm coming, this is the match against Gryffindor, right? You and Malfoy got your game plan worked out?" Tara teased, laughing at the far-away expression that glazed her friends face over. "Have you guys gone out lately? Didn't your last date go rather well?" she asked. Now it was Danielle's turn to glare. "It I was not /I a date! It was a strategy session! Now please, if I'm late, he's gonna have my head." And with that, Danielle turned and left the classroom, leaving Tara to follow her. The girls raced through the halls, down to the field, where they separated. Danielle made her way to the Slytherin locker room, where she quickly changed into her Quidditch robes. Tara made her way to the Slytherin stands, eager to cheer her house on.

Meanwhile, in the dungeons a certain professor was beginning to awaken. Snape's thoughts were disjointed and fuzzy, and his head was throbbing lightly. With a sigh, he put a hand to his head and reached across the bed to grab his wand. Snape conjured a pepper-up potion, and downed it quickly. There was a note on the pillow beside his, and he grabbed it, crinkling it in his hand before he unfolded it. "Dear Professor Snape, I'm sorry you had to take care of me yesterday, it will never happen again. I didn't want to wake you, I hope I haven't made more problems for you. If you want me to make other arrangements with Dumbledore, I will do my best. Thank you for taking care of me, sincerely, Tara" He crumpled the note again, and dropped it back on the pillow.

The small digital clock that Tara had placed on the nightstand glared at him, and with a shock he realized that he was missing one of the last Quidditch games. One of his House's last Quidditch games of the year. Why hadn't the stupid chit woken him up? His thoughts soured instantly as he recalled the events of the previous night. He had... dare he even think about it, cuddled. It was bad enough that he was going to be sharing quarters with her for a long time, but after what he had done the day before. Snape groaned as he remembered telling her to call him Severus, then rolled out of bed. And he had kissed her. Well, he was simply going to have to pretend it never happened, it would probably make things easier for her. After all, there could be no possible way she had actually enjoyed it. She was in shock, both from her new situation and from being sick, and he had taken advantage of her.

Snape gathered clean robes, showered and dressed, lost in his thoughts, planning a way to stay sane through this ordeal. All he would have to do would be ignore her, keep as far away from her as possible. As long as he could do that, he reasoned, he would be fine. Snape straightened his robes, and pushed his way out through the portrait hole, feeling pleased with his plan. Walking through the halls he could hear the far-off sounds of the Quidditch match. It would be the first time he had been late for a match without a good reason. When this whole thing was over, he promised himself, this whole crazy year, he was going to take a year off. He deserved it, after helping defeat Voldemort last summer, and now this. As he climbed up the stairs of the teachers stand, Snape made up his mind. He would tell Dumbldore after the match.

Tara whistled and clapped as Slytherin made another goal, bringing the score to 70- Slytherin, 20- Gryffindor, leaning over the edge of the stand. The game was going so well, this time they were sure to win. Every game they had played for the last few years against Gryffindor they had lost. It was that Potter boy, of course. He was one of the best players that Hogwarts had seen in a century. Still, Tara didn't really care so much. He seemed like a nice enough person, but all she knew of him was through the stories that were circulated through the school, so she couldn't say for sure. Just then, a blur of green and silver shot by and dropped into a dive. Over the crowd Tara could hear it being announced that Malfoy had most likely seen the snitch. Absorbed in watching Malfoy, Tara didn't notice a blur of red and gold that followed him, closely flanked by another Slytherin player. Harry Potter was following close on Draco's tail, gaining on him. Until the Slytherin beater shot a bludger at him, making his mark, knocking Harry off course, and partially off his broom. He crashed into the Slytherin stand, and grabbed at the spectators, trying to keep himself on his broom. He managed to get hold of a bit of robe, and tried to pull himself back up.

Tara suddenly found herself being pulled further over the edge of the stand, and braced her feet against the low wall. She looked over the wall, and with a gasp realized that her sleeve and a very precarious hold on a broom handle were the only things between Harry Potter and a 150 ft. fall. Without thinking, she reached her other hand over the rail and grabbed his. He turned his head to look at her for a second; then she was pulling him up into the stands. They managed to do fine until his foot caught on the rail. She fell backward, and he landed on top of her. Green eyes locked onto her grey ones, and she smiled at him. "So you're the famous Harry Potter? Nice to meet you. I'm Tara." She managed to squeak out, with him still lying on her chest. "Aren't you suppose to be playing Quidditch?" she asked him, as he stood and remounted his broom. He smiled back at her, and she watched him take off.

Snape had just arrived in the Teachers stand, just in time to see Potter's crash into the Slytherin stand. Anger coursed through Snape, and he clenched his fists. Curse the boy's incompetence, he had always been clumsy in potions, but now he couldn't even fly right. And he was supposed to be the best Quidditch player in a century? Snape glared in Potter's direction. He couldn't see who it was that Potter had landed on, but he felt sorry for the poor fool. If it were him, he would have pushed Potter off, and been done with him. The person who had been stuck with helping Potter was actually pulling him up.

As he watched, Potter's foot caught on the rail and he fell onto the person helping him. Another wave of fury gripped Snape, though he wasn't at all sure why. He had actually been getting along well with Potter, since the last battle, as though they had declared a truce. Still, he could not stop himself from sneering at the boy, working to think of a reason for giving him detention. As he watched Potter stood, followed by a tousled-looking Tara, beaming at the Gryffindor seeker. With a final glare at the seventh year and the girl whose care he was charged with, Snape spun and stormed back to his quarters, unnoticed by all but Dumbledore.


	7. The First Session

Goodnight, Sweet Princess  
Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep 

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Notice: The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would. 

**Chapter 7- The First Session**

He was avoiding her. Tara was sure of it. It had been a week since she had moved into his chambers, and she had hardly seen him at all. He would leave early in the mornings before she woke up, and come back after she was asleep. The only times Tara saw him at all, in fact, was at meals, where he made a point of looking at anything but at her. He was once again the cold, heartless git that mercilessly taught potions; Tara could find no traces of the kind, sweet man that had taken care of her when she was sick. Of course, she mused, it was quite possible she had imagined it all. It had been terribly uncharacteristic of Snape to be nice to anyone, let alone someone that had just invaded his personal space, so she had probably just hallucinated the whole thing. Tara settled back in the chair and pushed all thoughts of Snape from her mind. Thinking about him only stressed her out, and she really didn't need any more stress right now. Today was her first appointment with the dream analyst her parents and Dumbledore had arranged for her to see. If she was nervous, she didn't want it to show, so it was simply best not to even think of Snape until she was done.

A small click sounded behind her, and Tara twisted in her chair to see who was there. Dressed in brightly patterned robes, with his half-moon spectacles perched precariously on the tip of his nose, Dumbledore shut the door; careful of a small silver bowl he was carrying. "Ah! Miss Landers, how good to see you!" Dumbledore's cheerful demeanor made Tara relax, and she smiled at him. "Good Morning, Headmaster. Ho-" she started, but he cut her off. "Bertie Bott bean, Miss Landers?" He pushed a small glass bowl of them towards her. Tara leaned forward, and selected a black one, crossed her fingers, and popped it into her mouth. She smiled, and announced "Licorice!" happy not to have gotten nail polish or tar. "Well then, down to business." Dumbledore settled the silver bowl in the center of his desk; then moved to the fireplace. From a wooden box on the mantle he took a tattered leather bag, which he carried back to the desk. "I believe you know what Floo Powder is, how it operates?" he asked. "Yes, I've used it a few times." Tara replied, eager to go. "Good. Then I will give you this, wish you good luck, and see you off." Dumbledore handed her the small bowl, and walked her to the fireplace. Tara took a bit of powder from the leather bag, threw it into the fire and said "Shirley Keller, Diagon Alley." As she stepped into the fire it rose up around her, like crackling blue tongues, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

When she opened them, she was sitting on a soft carpet in front of another fireplace, a fine coat of soot on her clothes. "Oh! Hello there! You must be Tara, yes? I'm Shirley. You're early, but that's quite alright. Take a seat, and I'll be with you in just a second, 'kay?" A short, rather squat woman was bustling around the room, her bright yellow robes clashing terribly against the sea foam green walls and furniture. Tara raised a hand and brushed a bit of soot out of her eyes, and pushed herself up from the ground. "Ugh… where do you want me to put this?" Tara asked, holding the bowl she was carrying out to the woman. "Blast! I knew I forgot something!" said Shirley, who grabbed her wand, muttered a quick charm, and a small round table flew in through an open door, settling in the center of the room. "Right there, dear, if you don't mind." Shirley pointed at the table, and Tara could only gape at the boundlessly energetic older witch.

"Now then, I'll be needing from you is the names and signs of the people in your dream, and where exactly the dream is set, then you'll be done for the day." Tara was now seated in an overstuffed wing chair. "Y-you mean that's it?" she asked. "Oh! Heavens no! But this is just your first time here. I need a chance to look at whatever dream it is you've been having, it is just the one, yes? Your Headmaster, I believe, said you are plagued with a recurring dream? Since it's just one dream, we wont discuss it until next time you come." Shirley paused, shot a quirky smile at Tara, then continued. "Think of this as introductions, rather than 'a session'. This isn't really anything like that dreadful muggle counseling I see on the telly." Tara shook her head, she didn't watch much TV, but she could imagine what Shirley was referring to, after all, there were no shortage of "counseling shows" in America. Tara hid a giggle behind her hand, imagining the older witch watching Jenny Jones, Ricky Lake, or Jerry Springer.

"Well then, you just tell me who these people are," Shirley had turned to face Tara, revealing a small row of two foot tall miniatures of Tara, Snape and Lucien that she had somehow created, and she gestured at the dolls. "This one is quite obviously you, so lets just get rid of this doll." With a wave of her wand the doll that resembled Tara deflated and swooshed into the tip of her wand. "Alright, let's start with this gentleman, tell me who he is." Shirley pointed to the miniature of Snape. Tara smiled softly, she had been doing so well, she hadn't thought about Snape since Dumbledore's office, and now she was forced to think about him. "That's Professor Snape. He's the potions master at the school." Tara stopped; unsure of what other information Shirley wanted. "Ah yes, I've met Professor Snape a few times. Do you know his Sign Tara?" Shirley asked. Tara shook her head; she didn't have the faintest clue. "Ok then, tell me, what is your relationship like with Professor Snape."

For a moment, Tara was too stunned to speak. Then it hit her; Shirley wanted to know about their _teacher-student_ relationship. "Well, I guess he's a good teacher, I don't really know him very well. He's not exactly the nicest person, but I don't think he means to be as cruel as he is." Again, Tara paused, trying to form her thoughts into sentences before she continued "And he's been so much nicer since I moved into his chambers, he even took care of me when I was sick." Shirley's pen scritch-scratched on her paper, the only sound in the room. "Ah yes, he is the professor you are staying with then?" Without giving Tara a chance to answer, she continued. "Now this handsome gentleman, tell me about him." That's Lucien. He's my sire. He changed me about two years ago. I don't know him well at all, I only knew him for a few weeks. I think he's a Leo." A dreamy look had come over Tara's features, but her voice was full of bitterness and pain.

"I see. Now then, we've got the people done," Shirley paused; and with a muttered word both dolls were sucked into the tip of her wand, and she continued as a miniature house shot from her wand's tip. "You can tell me where this house is, and how you know it, if you please." "Oh. That's my plantation house. It's where I used to live, when we lived in America. It's where I grew up. My parents wanted to sell it, but I convinced them to give it to me." Tara began to drift off into thought, but Shirley interrupted her revere. "Do you still visit it? Is this where you were changed?" Not paying much attention, it took Tara a moment to respond. "Yeah. That's where Lucien changed me. I go back every summer, after all, it is my home." "Good, good. Right, one more thing, then we're done for the day. It says in your file that you've been having this dream for two years now, is that correct?" Tara nodded.

Shirley set her small notepad on her desk, and then bustled over to Tara. "You've done remarkably well, for your first time. I'll be reviewing your dream during the week, and we'll talk more next time you come, okay?" And suddenly Tara was in front of the fire, a handful of Floo powder in her fist, and Shirley was waving goodbye. With no other options, Tara turned around and Flooed herself back to the school.

////// Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts \\\

Seated behind his desk, Snape paused to enjoy a moment of quiet freedom from the constant chatter of students. The whole situation was enough to put bats in anyone's belfry. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to erase the memory of Potter sprawled on top of the stupid Landers girl. _Smack. _Snape's fist slammed down on his desk. Even when he did all he could to avoid her; he could not remove her from his thoughts. _Collect yourself_, he chided mentally. _Your students will be here in a few minutes. Do you want them to see you like this?_ The voice inside his head taunted him. Irritably, Snape shuffled a stack of papers, neatening, straightening, until everything was in perfect order.

Just seconds after he was done, the dungeon door burst open, spewing laughing students into his domain. Snape glared at them. Soon the room was almost full of students, settling into their seats. Snape surveyed the group. Slytherins, and Gryffindors. Seventh years. Inwardly, Snape cursed. This was Potter's class, and sure enough, a few seconds later Harry and his gaggle of friends entered the room. Detesting himself for letting anything Potter did get under his skin, Snape copied instructions for the afternoon's potion on the board; then, to capture his classes attention, he turned back to the class, letting his textbook drop onto his desk with a resounding thump. The trick worked, all eyes riveted to him, and he scanned the room, feeling particularly malevolent. "Your potions will be done, and on my desk, by the time class is through. This is a particularly difficult potion, and I will be deducting points from your grades for every error you make. Get to work!" he warned the class quietly.

Somehow, things managed to go rather smoothly, until approximately half way through the class. Then the trouble began. From the corner of his eye, Snape watched as Draco Malfoy shot a small, charmed paper airplane at Potter. The plane hit Harry's hand, which was hovering over his cauldron pouring powered cypress resin into the thick liquid, causing the boy to pour more in than he had intended. Immediately, green smoke began to rise from the mixture. With a strained efficiency, Snape moved to the boy's desk and in seconds, the smoking potion was gone, leaving behind an empty cauldron and a scowling Professor. He sneered down at the boy. "Detention, Potter."


	8. Shopping!

Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep 

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Notice: The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape does not always act as, well, Severus Snape would.

Thanks to all my betas - Ta-kun, Atmosk-sama, Boi Moose, and my dad.

**Chapter 8- Shopping**

Traveling by Floo, Tara decided, was something she didn't really care for. Not only did it seem to involve a lot of soot, but she just couldn't seem to come out on her feet. Moments after leaving Shirley's office, she had found herself sitting in front of a fireplace, this time in Dumbledore's office. When she looked up, he was sitting at his desk, petting Fawkes the phoenix. He came around his desk, and helped Tara to her feet. "Did it go well then, Miss Landers?" he asked. "Yes, I think so." "Very good. I do believe that Miss Bousquet is eagerly waiting to hear every detail in the hall outside this office." Tara smiled and headed for the door. As she reached the heavy door, Tara paused. Turning to look at the Headmaster again, she asked "Professor… I'd like to get something for Sev- Professor Snape as a thank you for taking care of me, but I can't think of anything to get him." She stopped for a moment. Dumbledore smiled at her and asked, "If I might make a recommendation then? I think I have just the thing…."

Saturday dawned gray and dreary at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, dampening the moods of a number of the castle's inhabitants, none more so than the Potion Master's. His head still pounded from the day before, dealing with Potter had given him a migraine, despite that he had taken a restorative draught to clear it up. That the draught hadn't worked only vexed him further. He had gotten no sleep, the night had been spent tossing and turning on the couch he had transfigured into a very lumpy hard bed the night before when his headache had been at it's worst. And, to top it all off, he could no longer continue to avoid the Landers girl. Today was the first of her make-up lessons, and Snape dreaded it. He groaned at the thought and levered himself out of bed. Head pounding, he decided to try another draught, and shuffled to his private potions cabinet. After a moment, he selected one and drowned it in one large swig. Almost immediately the headache cleared.

Turning around, he surveyed the room, a scowl forming on his face. He would have to ask Dumbledore to find one of the floating rooms that would be appropriate for a bedroom and attach it to his rooms. In fact, Snape decided, he'd do it right now. Without another thought he stalked over to the bedroom, flung open the door, and marched inside. He had reached the desk before he realized that he was very lucky that Tara had already gone, that he hadn't burst in on her in any state of undress. Snape blushed momentarily, shook himself, and turned back to the desk. In a few seconds, he had a quill, ink, and paper and dashed off a note to Dumbledore, sending it by floo to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore wasn't in, so Snape left the note on the room's large desk, while Fawkes gazed at him curiously. He glared at the bird, and flooed himself back to his rooms to prepare for battle with his lessons.

Tara smiled, reveling in the fact that her day was going so well. She had woken up early, gotten herself ready for the day, making sure to dress comfortably and make her hair and make-up as pretty as possible. She had snuck out, careful not to wake her favorite professor, and met up with Danielle out in the hallway. They had a quick breakfast and met up with the group of students heading to Hogsmeade. Since they would be back by one, and Tara's make-up lessons weren't until two she was able to relax and enjoy herself. Dumbledore had given her a few recommendations on gifts to get Snape, and she had been eager to find them. It hadn't taken her very long to decide on two presents, and a bag of candy to give to the Potion Master. With their leftover time, she and Danny had found a set of beautiful, soft blue robes that Tara just hadn't been able to resist buying. The robes had been charmed to fit their wearer in the most flattering was possible. The girls had window shopped for a while, and decided to stop for tea before returning to the castle. They had been two stores away from the teahouse when Danny started to act funny. Danny had urged Tara to go ahead, assuring Tara she would be along in a few minutes.

So now Tara sat alone in the tiny teashop, waiting for Danny, and thinking about her favorite professor. "Waiting on your sweetheart, dearie?" the older woman who brought the tea asked. "No, waiting for my best friend" Tara answered. A minute later Danny came through the door, two small bags in her hand. Smiling hugely, she sat down across from Tara and handed her friend one of the bags. Tara looked at her, curious but cautious. She remembered receiving a snap-jawed shrub one year for Christmas from Danny. She still had nightmares about it. "Well, open it!" Danielle commanded. Both girls reached into their bags and pulled out matching jewelry boxes. Tara opened hers and gasped. Inside lay a tiny blue gem crescent moon and star pendant on a thin silver chain. She held the necklace up to the light, and it sparkled and shone. "Oh Danny, it's beautiful!" "I'm glad you like it. I got myself a matching green one." Danny put on her own quickly, then took Tara's and gently fastened it around her friend's neck. The necklace rested on her skin, the chain warm from being in Danny's hand, but the gemstone was cool and heavy on Tara's chest.

"Thank you Danny! I really really love it." Danielle had returned to her tea, sipping it slowly. She was looking at Tara with interest. Danny smiled at Tara, reached into her purse and brought out a hand mirror. "Here. Look at your eyes" she told Tara and handed her the mirror. Tara took it, held it up and gasped. Danielle smiled. "The necklace is enchanted," she explained, "they were supposed to make eyes change to color completely, but these were duds. They only make sunbursts of color. Yours is blue, mine is green, and the color matches the stones."

Tara inspected her eyes again. The outer edges of her pupils were their usual blue-tinted gray, but the inside ring was now a brilliant deep blue. Tara handed the mirror back, and looked at her friend's eyes. They had a bright green starburst overlaid on Danielle's original gold-flecked brown. For a few minutes Tara studied the other girls necklace and eyes. By the time she was finished it was time to go, so Tara paid the bill and they headed off to join the rest of the group.

When they finally got back to the castle, Danielle helped Tara bring her bags back to her room. Danielle had gone to get lunch and Tara had stayed to try on her new clothes. She slipped the soft blue fabric around her and immediately decided to wear them for her lesson. Turning to the pile of bags on the bed, Tara sifted through their contents to find her gifts to her favorite professor. Tara took a moment to admire them, then arranged them in a plain white box and set the bag of candy on top. A glance at the clock urged her to hurry, or she would be late for her first make-up lesson. Tara grabbed her potions kit, checked herself in the mirror one last time, left the present box on a small table in the living area and hurried off.

Professor Snape glanced at the clock. Another five minutes of silence left, then… then the make-up lesson. Three hours alone with Tara. How did Dumbledore expect him to survive three long, agonizing, awkward hours alone with her without strangling, or god forbid, kissing her. He grimaced, and glanced down at the note in his hand. Dumbledore had sent it to him an hour or two ago. Snape should have his new bedroom before dinner. Voices in the hallway made him look up from the note. The dungeon door opened a crack as the voices faded, then closed again. The potion's master turned back to his note. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the door opening or that someone else was in the room, until he looked up into the face of the last person he wanted to see.


	9. Detention

Goodnight, Sweet Princess

Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep  


A Harry Potter FanFiction

Notice: The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape and Harry Potter do not always act as as they should.

* * *

A.N.: Thanks to all of my reviewers, especially WhiteDragonHawke and dmc87, and to all of my readers, whether you review or not, I appreciate you all!! I know it's taken me a rather long time to get this chapter out, and hopefully it wont take near as long for the next chapter.

**Chapter 9 – Detention!**

Tara made it to the potions dungeon just in time, and managed to catch the heavy door before it closed completely. She began to pull the door open again, but voices inside the room made her hesitate. She immediately recognized one of the voices as Professor Snape's and she couldn't place the other, though it was familiar. Unable to resist, Tara popped her head just inside the door and took in the scene in front of her. Her favorite professor was staring at the student in front of his desk like it was a basilisk or gorgon. This was not terribly odd, as the student was none other than Harry Potter, and the entire castle knew that Harry was Professor Snape's least favorite student. Staying silent, Tara crept into the room, and settled her things softly at one of the worktables in the back of the room. 

Snape seemed to get over his speechlessness quickly and Tara heard him ask "Mr. Potter, why is it you are in my dungeon?" Tara paused what she was doing, and found herself wondering the same thing, why was Harry Potter voluntarily in the potions room on a Saturday? Everyone knew that potions was his least favorite subject. "You gave me detention." Harry stated simply. Snape looked shocked for just a second, then regained his composure. "I see. So above-the-rules Harry Potter is given a detention and he actually shows up? This must be a first." He drawled. Tara could see the Gryffindor tensing up at the professor's remark.

Behind his composed front, Snape was seething. How could he have been so stupid to assign Potter a detention for the same time he had a make-up lesson with Tara? For a moment he honestly contemplated letting the boy off the hook, for the sake of his sanity. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. If he let Potter off everyone would think he'd gone either soft or crazy. He wasn't sure which was worse, to let everyone think he had gone crazy or to actually go crazy. He groaned inwardly. Either way he couldn't win, but maybe he could get Potter to leave before Tara came in, so there would be no witnesses. "Well, Potter, it seems you'll be getting off eas- " He started, but he was interrupted by the sound of glass breaking.

Tara cursed herself for not paying attention to what she was doing. She had been setting out vials of powered ingredients, but she had been so engrossed in the conversation between Snape and Potter that she had missed the table and dropped a vial to the floor by her foot. At the sound of the glass hitting the floor, the other occupants of the dungeon turned and stared at her. "Oops" she muttered as she shifted her weight from one foot to another and was startled when pain shot up her leg. She looked down and was surprised to see a thin stream of blood flowing from beneath her robes to the floor. Silently Tara thanked who ever had put an anti-stain charm on the fabric, because blood definitely clashed with the bluebell color of the fabric.

Harry took a step towards her, but somehow in the time it took him to take one step Snape had already swept around the desk and was standing in front of her. "Miss Landers. Next time you have a lesson you will announce yourself when you arrive, and when you are in this classroom you will pay attention to what you are doing." He said, more harshly than he had intended. Tara nodded mutely and Snape turned around to walk back to his desk. She settled gingerly on a nearby stool and inspected her foot. There was a large piece of glass sticking out from the side of her foot. Tara gritted her teeth and grabbed the shard. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she gently pulled until the glass slid out of her flesh. In a few seconds the cut was half it's original size and Tara knew that the cut would be closed completely in a matter of minutes. Still, she pulled off her sock, and wedged it between her cut and her shoe, to absorb the trickle of blood still coming from the cut. As Tara waited for the cut to heal, she felt resentment bubble inside her. She hadn't done anything wrong, there was no need for Snape to be so harsh with her. She wondered idly what had happened to the man who had taken care of her when she was sick.

By the time her cut had healed and she had pulled herself from her thoughts, Snape had already walked back to his desk and was giving Tara and Harry glares, looking particularly unpleasant. "Miss Landers, you will follow the instructions I have left here" he gestured to a nearby chalkboard filled with step-by-step direction before turning towards her and glaring all the more fiercely "and make a Eloko–repelling potion, a quick-grow concoction, and a Fire-shield protection potion. I expect two vials of each to be on my desk in two hours, without any errors. You may leave when all six vials are on my desk." He paused, and then turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter. You will write me a essay two feet in length on the properties and uses of three kinds of tree resin and the potions that they are used in." Another pause. "I will be in my office. Mr. Potter, you are free to leave when your two hours are up, I will collect your essay next class." That said, the potions professor swept out of the heavy door, thanking the quick thinking that had helped him maneuver himself out of the classroom.

Tara sighed. She already knew how to make quick-grow concoction, she had been using it for years on her garden at home, and had once helped Danielle's mother make a Eloko–repelling potion. Only the fire-shield protection potion she was unfamiliar with. "Looks like we got off easy." She remarked. "Two feet on tree resins is easy?" Harry looked at her as though she had three heads. "He could've given you six." Tara returned as she packed up all the ingredients she wouldn't need. Deciding to at least try and be friendly, Tara asked "So what are you here for anyway?" "Detention. If it wasn't for that stupid git Malfoy, I wouldn't be here." He replied, and Tara could hear the anger and frustration in his voice. She nodded. As she put the last of her unnecessary ingredients into her bag, Tara watched the school's most famous student. Tall and thin, his hair going in every direction, she supposed he had a certain appeal. At the very least he did not seem to suffer from the same unpredictable mood shifts that their professor was apparently subject to. He was setting up his book and scroll on the worktable next to hers, looking resigned and weary. "Want help?" Tara surprised herself by asking. For a moment he looked at her strangely, something Tara was getting slightly annoyed with, and nodded. "Good. Just let me start this potion, you can start looking at that book, it should have plenty of stuff on trees in potion-making in it." She instructed, and busied herself with her potion.

For the next twenty minutes, Tara tended her Eloko-repelling potion, adding powdered yarrow root and crushed St. Johns Wort to a base of Pomegranate juice and waited for it to turn a soft baby blue color. When it did she added five moonstones, three dragon scales and a drop of her own blood, mixing it gently for a few minutes before letting it simmer. When she was satisfied, she turned back to Harry, who was staring blankly at the book in front of him. Tara cleared her throat, and when he didn't move she walked over to his table and poked him playfully in the shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, and she shrugged. He spent a minute rubbing his shoulder. Finally, he asked, "You're not normal, are you?" Tara peered at him. "Not really… how did you guess?" "Just know, sorta. It's kinda hard to explain, but I don't seem to meet a lot of normal people."

Tara smiled at him. Before she knew what she was doing, she told had told him her secret. Not the big one, about her and Snape, but about what she was. Much to her surprise, he didn't look frightened, but curious. After a few minutes, he smiled back at her. "If Hermione knew there was a vampire in Hogwarts, she'd never leave you alone." He stated. Tara could imagine. Everyone knew that the head girl was forever in the library researching something. "So… were you really friends with Professor Lupin?" Tara inquired quietly. "Yeah, still am, he was one of my dad's schoolmates." Harry said. "You really don't know a lot of normal people, do you?" She asked softly, as she pulled Harry's potions book towards herself. She immediately found a large passage, four pages, on amber, which she pointed out to Harry. "That should give you about six inches," she encouraged.

They were silent for a while, and every now and again, Tara would stir her potion as she thought. "What did Malfoy do, to make Snape give you a detention?" "He threw a paper airplane at my hand, and made me add too much powered cypress resin to the potion I was making." Tara nodded and returned to her thoughts while Harry returned to his essay. Unbeknownst to Harry, Tara loved teasing Malfoy, and took any excuse she had to do so. A thought hit her, and Tara smiled. Had anyone who knew her been watching, they would have run very far away, very fast. Everyone who knew her would recognize the smile as a sure-fire precursor to a lot of trouble. As it was, poor, unfortunate Harry Potter did not know her, and so was not able to recognize Tara's smile, even if he had been watching to see it.

"You like adventure, right?" She asked as she glided over to Harry's worktable. "Yeah." He returned, not looking up from his scroll. "How would you like to get back at Malfoy without getting in any trouble?" He finally looked up at her. "Without getting in any trouble?" He repeated. "Yeah." Harry stared at her. What exactly did getting back at Malfoy involve? "I can deal with Malfoy, and make sure no one will think it was you." Inwardly, Tara wondered at herself. 'What the heck am I doing this for?' Remembering her earlier anger at the potions master, her mother's voice suddenly sounded inside her head. 'Tara dear, it cannot hurt to play a little hard to get. It makes a guy go crazy, thinking you're with someone they can't stand, and then you get to watch them work to win you over. That's how I got your father's attention.' Tara grimaced for a split second, she hated the thought of taking relationship advice from her mother, but it did seem to make sense, and she had seen Danny do the same thing without fail a few times before. "I'll take care of Malfoy, but you have to do something for me." Tara announced hesitantly, considering her decision one more time. "You don't have a girlfriend, do you?" Tara questioned Harry. He shook his head. "Good." She announced, "Perfect. All you have to do is pretend to be going out with me for a few weeks, and I'll do the rest."

Though some part of his brain was setting alarms off like crazy, all Harry could do was stare at the pretty Slytherin girl as she bottled filled two bottles of light blue potion, and started work on her second potion. 'How do I get myself into these things?' He wondered. Still, he had to admit going along with her plans couldn't be too bad. Since the final battle against Voldemort, Harry had been receiving stacks of mail from witches, and even some wizards, all over England professing love, and the girls at Hogwarts would not leave him alone. Harry didn't like any of them, but he didn't have the faintest clue about how to make them leave him alone. The only time he felt safe was when he was with Ron and Hermione, who seemed very capable at glaring away all Harry admirers. By now some part of his brain, probably not the brightest part, had pushed forward it's two cents. 'If I already have a girlfriend, maybe they'll leave me alone.' Alarms shut down, appeased at finding this kernel of logic, and Harry found himself agreeing absently to whatever Tara was telling him, as he dreamed about how he would spend all the free time he would no longer have to use avoiding group after group of girls.

Tara paused, about to add a pinch of powdered unicorn horn to her Quick-grow potion. "You ok?" She asked, looking at Harry's strange expression. "If you don't want to do this, I'm sure I can convince somebody else to help me." "It's ok, I think I can handle it." "Well, then, might as well make this convincing." Tara went over to her worktable and grabbed as much of her potions equipment as she could carry, and brought it over to Harry's table, dumping it on the empty space he wasn't using. For a moment, she stood staring at her cauldron, after a few minutes she added the last few ingredients to her second potion and filled three bottles of it. She labeled the bottles, and placed two on Snape's desk, next to the two bottles of Eloko-repelling potion, before walking back to Harry's table and sitting next to him. He watched her for a few minutes as she considered the instruction Snape had left on the board detailing how to create the Fire-shield protection potion. They spent the next half-hour of their time in comfortable silence, Harry working on his essay, Tara working diligently on her last potion. When she had filled two more bottles with the last potion and sighed in relief, Harry put down his quill and looked over his progress on the essay. About four inches short, but Harry decided he'd have Hermione help him after dinner. Tara placed the last two bottles on Snape's desk, then returned and wrapped the extra bottle of quick-grow in soft cloth and placed it gently in her bag before packing up the rest of her supplies.

They hadn't expected to see Snape again, but had expected to simply leave when their two hours were up. Unfortunately for him, he had decided to collect Tara's potions a few minutes early, and make sure that Potter hadn't somehow blown himself up, though it was a fate Snape knew he would not lament. As he moved closer to the classroom, sounds of laughter and joking made him more and more ill tempered than he had previously been. Still, he would never have expected the sight that greeted him when he pulled the thick wooden door open and stepped into the room. Tara's potions were sitting in a row on his desk, but he didn't notice them. All he could see was his student sitting closer than proper to Harry Potter, reading over his essay. Snape glared. All he wanted to do was stalk over and strangle Potter for being so close to Tara, but something kept him from moving. Neither student had noticed him, or if they had they didn't give off any signs that they had. Snape watched, strangely jealous, as Potter muttered and Tara laughed, looking for the world like nothing could be funnier. She took the book Harry was looking at and flipped a few pages before pointing to something. He grunted and picked up an eraser and started scrubbing at the scroll in front of him.

Suddenly Tara looked at her watch and leaned over and gave Harry a quick kiss on his cheek. As she grabbed her bag and Harry turned bright red, Snape fumed. What right did she have to kiss anyone else? Hadn't she kissed him just days ago? And why, for god's sake, did she have to kiss Harry Potter? Tara was backing slowly towards the door, talking to Harry as she went. Harry had taken her cue and was packing up his things, so neither of them noticed that she was on a direct collision course with the potions master. Unaware of the man behind her, Tara turned to push the door open, and collided with Snape's chest. She fell to the floor with an oomph and a thud, and succeeded in pulling the professor from his thoughts. For a moment the two were caught staring into each other's eyes, and Snape noticed that something about her was different, but he couldn't place what.

There were a few awkward moments, as Tara sat on the floor and Snape stared down at her, until Harry cleared his throat from behind them and helped Tara off the floor, but Tara's eyes did not leave Snape's. He stood in the classroom doorway until Harry had dragged Tara all the way up the corridor towards the Great Hall before he slammed the classroom door and stalked back to his quarters.


	10. Revenge is Best Served Pink?

**Goodnight, Sweet Princess**

Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Notice: The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape and Harry Potter do not always act as as they should.

**Chapter 10 – Revenge?**

Severus Snape leaned heavily against the door of his chambers, his eyes closed. Over and over his mind replayed the scene in the dungeon, Tara leaning over, kissing that blasted Potter gently on the cheek. Thinking about it, he could feel his hands clench into fists at his sides. Though he didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, he felt both betrayed and jealous. She shouldn't affect him this much, and yet, despite all the distance he had already put between them, it clearly wasn't enough. He resolved to double his efforts. Slowly, his eyes slid open, unconsciously searching the room for any signs of Tara. His gaze passed swiftly over the fireplace, an armchair, the coffee table, the couch, and was quickly pulled back to the coffee table. Sitting on the polished wood, wrapped in silver and green paper, two boxes, and a good-sized bag of candy. It hardly took a genius to guess that the packages were from Tara, and Snape briefly toyed with the idea of leaving them boxes unopened, but curiosity tugged at him, drew him to the couch.

The bag was filled with an assortment of Ice Mice, Peppermint Toads, and firewhisky-filled Chocolate cauldrons. Snape withdrew a small peppermint toad from the bag and bit it's head clean off, before setting the rest of the bag aside. The first box, Snape discovered, held a number of vials, all neatly labeled with names like powered windstone, essence of twilight, and shredded wildhoof vine. A small scrap of parchment proclaimed that the vials were top quality, extremely rare potions ingredients. Snape gazed in mild awe, essence of twilight, and two of the other ingredients within the box were so rare, even he, the potions master, had never used them. All of the vials contained highly powerful substances, and Snape momentarily wondered how Tara had been able to get such large quantities of them, and how much it had cost her. Still in shock, he carefully set the opened box next to the bag of candy, and turned to the final package. Cautiously, he peeled back the paper, and lifted the lid off of the box. Inside, nestled within a layer of thin tissue paper, lay a pair of men's pajamas. But not, he saw immediately, normal pajamas. The silver silk pants and shirt had cauldrons printed all over them, which rocked back and forth as small vials poured their contents in from above, causing green bubbled to appear over the cauldron rims. Snape could not hold back a laugh; she had clearly remembered his comments about her own pajamas.

As he pulled the pajamas from their box to examine them further, a small envelop slid from the fabric and fluttered to the floor. Inside he found a note, in Tara's lilting script, thanking him for allowing her to stay in his rooms. With a jolt, he realized that she had signed the note "Love, Tara". Seeing the word on paper, though he quickly assured himself that she did not mean it, made something inside him uncoil, relax. His mind conjured images of Tara's eyes, blue and sliver, as they had been earlier, when she had collided with him in the dungeon. There had been something strange about her eyes, though he could not place what that was. His mind shifted its focus, and Severus found his mind had fixated itself firmly on Tara's lips. Hastily, he returned both note and pajamas to their box, and carried all of the gifts into his temporary bedroom.

A number of floors above, the fireplace in Dumbledore's office flickered emerald green, and out of the flames stepped a short witch, clad in Day-glo orange robes, brushing soot off of herself absently. "Ah, Miss Keller, it is good to see you, however, I must confess, I was not expecting you so soon. Cherry cordial?" an amused voice offered. Albus Dumbledore, sat behind his desk, eyes twinkling, a box of muggle sweets in front of him. It had only been a few days since Tara Landers had come back through his fireplace, and it was completely true that he had not expected Shirley Keller to have her analysis done so quickly, nor had he expected the small witch to deliver her report in person. He gestured to the nervous witch to take a seat, but she merely kept pacing. She obviously had disturbing news, but he could wait until she was ready to hear it. It was as he ate another cherry cordial that she began to speak, telling him everything she had discovered. When she finally returned to her office via Floo powder, Dumbledore was left to decide the course of action that would be in the best interests of both his student and one of his professors.

Meanwhile, Tara was introducing Harry Potter, as her boyfriend, to Danny, just loud enough that the gossips sitting by them were sure to hear. Sure enough, in a few minutes, each of them had leaped off the bench, and had spread themselves out around the great hall, spreading what they had just heard like wildfire. Tara smiled at her best friend, who was still gazing at her in shock, while Harry looked around for Ron and Hermione. "What about Sn-" Danny asked, still stunned at this new development, but Tara cut her off with a glare. "I'll tell you later" she assured her friend, and turned back to Harry, who had just spotted Ron and Hermione. Tara had briefed him on the way up from the dungeons, after she had collected her wits, and had made it very clear that if her plans were to work, then no one could know that they were only pretending to go out. He had protested that Hermione would kill him if he lied to her about something like this. Tara had relented and agreed that he could tell them, if they swore to secrecy. As the two seventh-years crossed towards their table both wore looks of utter confusion on their faces at finding their best friend sitting at their rival houses table. Ron quickly sidled up to Harry, and asked, none too quietly, "Harry, did she Imperius you? I swear, I'll get Ginny to put her bat-bogey curse on her." Harry hesitated a moment, then replied, "Ron, Hermione, this is Tara Landers," he paused, cheeks turning red, before gathering the courage to continue, "my girlfriend."

Tara was sure that Ron's jaw would have to be magically reattached because it fell so far. Hermione, on the other hand, took the news remarkably well. She smiled at Tara and told Ron, "I'm sure he'll tell us all about it later, right Harry?" as she sat down next to Tara. Ron continued to stand gaping at them then plunked himself down next to Harry. Dinner was a remarkably pleasant affair, with only Danny and Ron sulking. Harry and Hermione were very pleasant, and Tara found it very easy to get along with the Head Girl, who even whispered to Tara that she was very pleased that Harry had finally found a girlfriend, and how nice it would be to have another female to talk to. Harry, who was trying to convince Ron that the food at the Slytherin table was just as good as the food at the Gryffindor table, didn't hear the comment, but Tara felt her cheeks turn pink. When dinner ended, Harry dragged Hermione and Ron, who had been glaring daggers at Tara since she gave him another quick kiss on the cheek as they parted ways, off to their common room, while Danny dragged Tara off to the edge of the lake. As she settled into bed that night, Tara hoped that Harry had had an easier time explaining the situation to his friends that she had had with Danny.

The a few days later, Tara and Harry exchanged hellos as they passed each other on the way to breakfast, and Tara had whispered "Keep your eyes on Malfoy," as they passed. Ron had tugged Harry away towards the Gryffindor table, and Tara had headed towards her own house table, sitting across from Danny, who was reading a book on Quidditch. Danny ignored her, and Tara munched happily on toast with blackberry jam, smiling at her plans. She had been awake at the crack of dawn to put her plans in motion, and she had nearly been caught as she gathered and returned the necessary supplies. It was well worth it, she knew, when violent laughter began erupting from the castle's entrance. A circle of onlookers had formed at the hall doors, laughter spreading as people stood to see the cause of commotion. There, in the middle of the circle, looking murderous, was Draco Malfoy, clad from head to toe in pink. Not only were his robes, shoes, and book bag pink, but his hair, which was now also pink, had grown, and was braided down the back and tied off with a pink bow. Tara, who had enchanted all of his robes, and his shampoo, smiled, admiring her handiwork.

All over the hall people had pulled cameras out of nowhere and began taking pictures of the pink-clad Draco. Danny remained engrossed in her book, until Malfoy had pushed his way through the crowd, threatening anyone who would listen, and sat down heavily next to Danny. She looked up and let out a small shriek to the amusement of the rest of the hall. It took Danny a second to realize that he was glaring at Tara, who was now laughing just as hard as everyone else in the hall. "You look very… nice today, Draco," Tara managed to say through her giggles. "What did you do to my robes?" The once platinum-blonde haired boy growled back. "What do you mean, you know I don't have access to the boy's dorms!" she protested, and Draco gave her one last glare before stalking off to hunt down all the boys who shared his dormitory. Danny, however, did not look convinced. "Whatever you've done," she hissed at Tara, "you'd better fix it! If he stops speaking to me, I swear Tara, I'll tell Snape!" Tara continued smiling, but told her friend, "I'm telling you Danny, it wasn't me!" Danny scowled at her, then marched off to find Malfoy.

After the eventful breakfast, Tara's morning classes were dull and made her sleepy. Danny was not speaking to her, but every time Tara caught sight of a flash of pink in the halls, she knew that it was worth it. Once the spells wore off, Danny would stop being mad at her. After a particularly difficult herbology lesson, Tara headed back into the castle, to change robes before lunch. When she finally entered the great hall, Danny was still shooting her daggers, but Harry and Ron were eagerly waving her over. Harry, it seemed, had told Ron that she was the cause of Draco's unusual dress, something he obviously approved of. "That," Ron told her, glancing at Draco, "was bloody brilliant!" Tara smiled, then chanced a cautious look at the staff table. Snape was glowering down at the four of them, looking somewhat beleaguered and tired. He had been avoiding her again, and she wondered if her plan was backfiring on her. Unable to think in the noisy, crowded hall, Tara gave Harry an absent-minded kiss on the cheek, and fled to the library.

* * *

A.N.: Once again, as always, I want to thank all my loyal readers and reviewers, especially all you new readers! I might write this for myself, but you guys inspire me to keep writing it! And, on a side note, I should have Chapter 11 up here in another week or two, depending on whether I have free time before or after I go out of town this weekend for a family thing. 


	11. An Accident

**Goodnight, Sweet Princess Or May Flights of Angels wing thee to thy sleep**

A Harry Potter FanFiction

Notice: The only characters I own in this fanfiction are Tara Landers and Danielle Bousquet. I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, as they belong strictly to J.K. Rowling. Also, I am well aware that at points, at least in the later chapters, Severus Snape and Harry Potter do not always act as they should.

Chapter 11 – An Accident

A chill November wind whipped at stonewalls, tearing the few remaining leaves off of trees and pelting icy rain at windows. Inside the castle fires were lit in every grate to ward of the cold and students were bundled up in large sweaters. Severus Snape too, had given in to the dismal weather, and was stalking the corridors in a mood as black as the heavy robes he was wearing, giving detentions to or deducting house points from anyone who crossed his path. For two weeks he had been doing his best to avoid both Tara and Potter, though his attempts were failing miserably. He could not eat a single meal without seeing Tara kiss the insufferable savior of the wizarding world, nor could he have a moment's peace in his own chambers, where he was constantly assaulted with reminders of the girl's presence.

Worse yet, his mind and body had rebelled against his will, turned traitor against him. The betrayal of his body was easy to understand, it had reacted to her presence long before they shared his close quarters, and the two kisses they had shared had only made his body's reactions to her stronger. The treachery of his mind was another matter entirely. Images of her eyes hounded him, memories of her lips on his seared his dreams, and it seemed no matter how hard he fought against them, he could not seem to win. Dreamless Sleep potions had no affect, and so the potion's master had begun sleeping only when absolutely necessary. The lack of sleep, too, was beginning to show its wear on the professor, in the form of dark shadows under his eyes.

Even now, when he finally seemed to have avoided seeing either student, they were all that he could think of. It had begun with images of her lips lightly caressing Potter's cheek. Somewhere along the line, she had stopped kissing the conceited brat's cheek, and had begun kissing his lips. This image had swiftly deteriorated into a series of mind-boggling images, each more explicit than the next, each infuriating Snape more and more. The pictures his mind presented would not leave him alone, no matter what he did, and they had created within him a paranoid knowledge that the two of them were off somewhere, doing Merlin knew what.

His new obsession and lack of sleep had become affected so thoroughly that he was now sweeping through corridor after corridor, searching for both students. As time had slipped by without a sight of his quarry, his usual calm, icy front had been replaced with a red-hot fury; strangely, he had no idea what he planned on doing with them when he finally discovered them. The outcome, he thought, would depend not on when or where he found them, but rather on how; if they were enacting any of the scenarios his mind had presented, he had no doubts that they would have to send Potter to St. Mungo's for at least a week. There was never a question of how he would deal with Tara, Snape already knew his plans for the young witch: he would give her as many detentions as necessary, but he would not let her be in Potter's company out of his sight again. It would mean that he would be unable to distance himself from her, but at least his mind would not have any reason to summon any more unwanted, vile thoughts of Tara and Potter being anything close to intimate.

As he progressed along a particularly empty passageway Snape idly noticed that he hadn't given out a detention or deducted a single house point in at least ten minutes. Ahead of him in the corridor, a group of students were fleeing him, while other groups were reforming behind him when he had passed. He scowled harder, and decided to head towards the great hall, where there were bound to be plenty of students to take his frustrations on. Still, his thoughts remained firmly fixed on Tara and Harry, oblivious of much of what was going on around him. He didn't notice the strange looks other professors were giving him as they passed in the halls, nor did he notice that he had given detentions to Peeves, (who had ignored him), and Nearly-headless Nick. He had also deducted 10 points each from a stunned Filch and an affronted-looking Mrs. Norris before Professor McGonagall tried to stop him in front of the Charms classroom, asking in a concerned voice if anything was wrong, but he stormed past her muttering a grouchy "nothing" as he went.

He had been well aware of the growing concerns of his fellow professors, especially during the past week. An increase in the number of detentions their students were receiving and the amount of points their houses were loosing had shocked them, and for the first few days they had ignored it; after all, even they had a few bad day streaks on occasion. But by the beginning of the second week they had begun to worry, and at least three times a day since then he had been subjected to well-intentioned, anxious attempts at finding out what was creating such a new level of harshness in the usually cold indifferent professor. The worst intercession by far had been Professor Trelawney. She had swooped down on him after dinner one night, her heavy perfume nauseating, and had followed him until he had shut his office door in her face, the entire time telling him how she was positive that his unpleasant attitude could be directly attributed to "Mars ascending," or some such other nonsense. Still, the hushed voices whenever he entered the professor's common lounge had warned him that he would have to deal with them, and soon, or he would risk Dumbledore's involvement and that was currently the last thing he wanted.

Though his destination had been the great hall, somehow, he found himself standing under a seemingly deserted portico. His current location could undoubtedly be blamed on his wandering mind, and while he had not been paying attention to the direction he was heading he had taken every precaution possible to prevent another run-in with any of the other professors. However, now that he was here, he was in no hurry to re-enter the school. The fury of the storm seemed to echo his own frustrations, something that seemed to release the energy that had built up within him. The wind tugged at his robes, trying to pull him into the whipping rain, but he steadfastly resisted.

As he stood watching the storm before him, twin blobs appeared in the distance, hurrying towards the castle doors. Snape watched them come closer, trying to find good reason to give detentions. The shapes gradually grew larger and less blurry, and at 10 feet away Snape could see that they were two boys, their scarves of scarlet and gold marking them as Gryffindors, neither of which could not be older than fourth years, covered in mud. He spared their appearances little thought, for his attention had been caught by the snatches of conversation that he could hear above the roaring wind. "…hit a bludger at 'er…" "…must've fallen 200 feet!" "…pretty. Know who she…" "…Slytherin, sixth-year…" As they came closer the potions master could hear more and more of their conversation. "… had to have two people carry her." "Never thought I'd see the day Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would work together!" Worry began to gnaw at Snape's insides, their words seemed particularly ominous through the roar of the storm and a chill that had nothing to do with the weather had snuck up his spine. A particularly fierce gust of wind pushed the boys towards the door, and they passed by the potions master without ever realizing how close to detention they had come. As the wind died back down, and the boys passed through the doors into the warm castle, Severus Snape heard one last fragment of their exchange, which chilled him to the bone the way no wind every could, and confirmed his suspicions. "… Potter's girlfriend!"

For a few moments, Snape stood, rooted, somewhere between the lashing rain and the warm safety of the castle. His mind, which had previously concerned itself with creating images of Harry and Tara kissing, had abandoned it's previous task to supply images of Tara being carried into the castle, body mangled and broken from such a huge fall. Panic rose up and gripped him, deftly tying his insides into knots and making it hard to breathe. A little voice inside his head, which had tormented him mercilessly over the last two weeks, was now urging him to kill who ever it was that had hit the bludger at her. It no longer mattered what she had been doing with Potter, for now he knew that the two had indeed been together, the only thing that was important had become hurting whoever had hurt her. Even as his mind devised tortures to inflict upon the ill-fated person, he cursed both himself and Potter for not protecting her better. He would deal with Potter later for not protecting Tara, but ensuring that her injuries were being properly treated was the foremost thought in his mind. He briefly considered trying to apparate to the infirmary to get there as soon as possible, but the rapidly shrinking rational part of his mind warned him that attempting to apparate would not be the brightest idea as he was on castle groups. And so the potions master found himself shoving open the doors to the castle and rushing through the halls as fast as he could without arousing suspicion or being caught by any of his colleagues.

He arrived at the infirmary faster than he had expected, and he could hear angry voices shouting through the doors. The frosted glass panes inscribed with plain red letters announcing _Infirmary – Madame Pomfrey_ prevented him from seeing inside the large room, but his mind easily supplied images of what awaited before him. Minutes passed as the Slytherin Head of House paused outside the doors, unusually nervous. He tried to steel his courage and force himself through the doors, but he could not seem to gather enough resolve to accomplish the task. He hadn't even been this nervous, he thought, when he had braved the third floor corridor that had housed Hagrid's damned dog. His body fought to turn and retreat to his office, though some part of him knew that he simply did not want to see the images his mind conjured in reality. Yet, for all he wanted to flee, Snape felt himself pulled towards the door, step by slow, agonizing step until finally the polished golden knob rested in his hand. Against his will he felt his fingers slowly spin the knob and draw the door from its frame.


End file.
